Magnetic sensors typically rely upon permanent magnets to detect the presence or absence of a magnetically permeable object within a certain predefined detection zone relative to the sensor. In combination with the permanent magnet, some sensors of this type utilize Hall Effect and/or magnetoresistive components located at particular positions relative to the permanent magnet and other. Magnetoresistive elements, for example, can be disposed at symmetrical positions relative to the permanent magnet in order to implement magnetic sensing operations.
Proximity sensors of this type, whether they use Hall effect elements or magnetoresistive elements, can be configured to sense the presence or absence of a magnetically permeable object passing through a detection zone in a direction generally perpendicular to a central axis of the permanent magnet or, alternatively, can be configured to detect the distance of a magnetically permeable object moving in a direction toward or away from a pole face of the permanent magnet along with a path that is generally parallel to the central axis of the magnet.
One example of a magnetic sensor, which has been implemented, is a temperature stable proximity sensor, which senses magnetic flux emanating from the lateral surface of a permanent magnet. In such a configuration, a ferrous object sensor detects the presence or absence of an object of high magnetic permeability, such as a tooth or a notch on a rotatable mounted ferrous wheel at zero speed and immediately upon power-up.
Such a device can be utilized as a proximity sensor and can be configured with a permanent magnet and a magnetic flux responsive sensor which has a sensing plane and which produces an electrical output signal that varies as a function of the change in magnetic flux density. In such a configuration the ferrous body sensor assembly does not rely upon pole face magnetism as some known conventional sensors do but, instead, relies upon the radial component of magnetic flux density emanating from a lateral surface of the magnet between the opposing pole faces. Since the ferrous object sensor assembly does not rely on pole face magnetism, its electrical output signal is relatively stable over a relatively wide temperature range.
In another magnetic sensor arrangement, a geartooth position and speed sensor can be configured with four magnetic resistance tracks connected in a bridge circuit arrangement. To simplify a field plate effect speed and position sensor, four meander-arranged Permalloy resistance tracks can be located on a substrate at the corners of a rectangle. Such components can be spaced, in the circumferential direction, by approximately half the pitch distance of the teeth of a gear. The resistance can be connected in a voltage divider configuration or in the form of a Wheatstone bridge circuit supplied with a constant current source to eliminate temperature variation effects. In one embodiment, the resistances are formed as meander-shaped thin film vapor deposited tracks on a silicon substrate. A permanent magnet can then be utilized to provide bias magnetization.
In magnetic sensors of the general type described above, a magnetically sensitive component is generally used to provide a signal representing the strength of a magnetic field in a particular direction. If a Hall Effect element is used in association with the permanent magnet, the signal from the Hall element represents the magnetic field strength component in a direction perpendicular to the sensing plane of the Hall device. If, on the other hand, a magnetoresistive element is used in association with the permanent magnet, the signal from the magnetoresistive element represents the magnetic field strength in a direction within the sensing plane of the magnetoresistive element and perpendicular to its thinnest dimension. Depending on the particular application and performance requirements of the sensor, either Hall Effect elements or magnetoresistors can be used. Throughout the literature describing the prior art, sensors of this general type are occasionally described as proximity sensors and alternatively described as geartooth sensors, depending on the intended application of the sensor.
In most proximity sensors, for example, several attributes are advantageous. For example, in a geartooth sensor used in association with an internal combustion engine, an advantageous characteristic is the ability to provide a signal upon startup that identifies the presence or absence of a geartooth in a predefined detection zone without the necessity of gear movement. This is known as a power-up recognition capability. Another advantageous characteristic of a geartooth sensor or a proximity sensor is its reduced size. The size of such a sensor is usually affected by the size of the permanent magnet and the relative positions of the magnetically sensitive component and the permanent magnet.
One example of a magnetic sensing application is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,143, entitled “Sensor With Magnetoresistors Disposed on a Plane Which is Parallel to and Displaced from the Magnetic Axis of a Permanent Magnet,” which issued to Mien T. Wu on Dec. 19, 1995, and is assigned to Honeywell International Inc. U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,143 is incorporated herein by reference and generally describes a proximity sensor with two magnetoresistive elements arranged in a common plane and displaced from a lateral surface of a permanent magnet. The common sensing plane of the magnetoresistive elements extends in a direction generally parallel to a magnetic axis of a permanent magnet that extends between the north and south poles of the magnet. In the configuration of U.S. Pat. No. 5,477,143, a detection zone can be defined relative to a pre-selected magnetic pole face and the magnetoresistive elements provide first and second signals that can be compared to define a third signal which is representative of the presence or absence of the magnetically permeable object within the detection zone. The magnetoresistive elements each have a plurality of magnetoresistors, which are arranged in a symmetrical Wheatstone bridge configuration for the purpose of providing the first and second signals described above.
One of the problems with such magnetic detection devices, such as the sensors described above, is that such devices, while adequate for some sensing applications, are typically configured in a symmetrical arrangement of magnetic sensing components, however an asymmetric configuration can often provide enhanced performance. Because, for example, gear tooth sensors can be composed of a permanent magnet and an anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) transducer to sense a ferrous or non-ferrous target, the AMR transducer design is critical to the performance of the resulting sensor device or system. Symmetrical arrangements are also sometimes not adequate for sensing non-ferrous targets via the well-known eddy current effect. It is believed that one technique for overcoming these deficiencies involves the implementation of an asymmetrical circuit arrangement, rather than a symmetrical configuration.